Merial Resident in Veterinary Parasitology

Jessica Rodriguez, DVM

Jessica Rodriguez, DVM and graduate student at Texas A&M University, is the Merial Resident in Veterinary Parasitology. Dr. Rodriguez is completing her PhD and clinical training toward board certification in parasitology under the direction of Dr. Karen Snowden, a leading veterinary parasitologist and current Diplomate of the ACVM. Jessica’s research focuses on furthering our understanding of Heterobilharzia americana, an important trematode pathogen of dogs. In addition to her clinical experience at TAMU, her program will include parasitology training at the veterinary colleges of Oklahoma State University, Kansas State University, the University of Prince Edward Island, and Colorado State University.

﻿​Five Questions with NCVP Merial Resident Dr. Jessica Rodriguez

Tell us a little about your background. Where are you from, what are some of the defining experiences of your life?I am originally from Houston, TX but did most of my growing up in Richmond and Livingston, TX. I graduated from Deer Park High School as salutatorian in 2002. I received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science at Texas A&M University in 2005 and Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2009. After graduating vet school, I was accepted as an intern in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Tennessee. After completing my internship, I worked as a veterinary emergency clinician in Houston and League City, TX. My international experience in veterinary medicine includes attending Wildlife Vets, a conservational medicine course in South Africa as a veterinary student. I also volunteered as a veterinarian through World Vets in Nicaragua, neutering stray and client owned animals as well as examining and treating patients in a free clinic.

How did you initially become interested in veterinary medicine?As a child, as soon as I found out what a veterinarian was I decided that I wanted to be one and never changed my mind. Growing up in rural towns, and with an animal lover as a mom, I had a variety of pets: dogs, cats, turtles, frogs, gerbils, rabbits, chickens, ducks, iguanas, etc. I would rent out books from the library every time we would get a new species to learn how to properly care for them. I remember finding an egg while venturing around our neighborhood and renting books on incubating and candling of eggs. My education also helped to keep me on track to fulfill my career. I am very privileged to have gone to very high quality public schools with teachers who created a great learning environment as well as encouraged their students to have high aspirations. Through the Health Occupation Students of America elective class in high school, I had the opportunity to interview as a kennel technician at Deer Park Animal Hospital. Within 6 months I was promoted to a veterinary technician. Having this exposure reinforced my career aspiration I had for most of my life. I enjoyed my job so much that I would forget to pick up my paycheck because I was truly working for the experience. ​

How did you become interested in parasitology? When did you know it would be your field?My first exposure to parasitology was when I worked as a veterinary technician and performed fecal flotations and skin scraping examinations. I was lucky to work for veterinarians who taught their technicians good diagnostic microscopy skills. Finding a hookworm egg never got old and seeing a giardia trophozoite always made my day. When given the option to hold patients in exam rooms or to stay in the lab, I’d always volunteer to run all the heartworm tests and fecal flotations. My interest for parasitology was reinforced when taking the undergraduate Biomedical Parasitology course at Texas A&M University. Learning the zoonotic potential of parasites as well as complex life cycles was so interesting that memorizing this information, along with parasite scientific names, was not a problem. I was delighted to learn about even more parasites in the veterinary parasitology course during veterinary school. When applying to veterinary school, in my essay I mentioned that pursuing a PhD in parasitology was a potential, but I did not think about it again until my internship and while working in emergency medicine. While enjoying making an impact on individual patients, I knew I would feel more fulfilled back in an academic setting, with the ultimate goal of impacting many students through teaching in parasitology as well as many animals through research. I am happy to have had experience as a small animal clinician, but am happier with the change in my career path. ​

What focus have you chosen for your residency? Where will your research efforts be targeted?My research will be focused on the trematode parasite, Heterobilharzia americana in dogs. I will characterize the parasite’s occurrence in Texas through case records review as well as parasite surveillance with the goal of developing a risk map using geospatial analysis. I will also be evaluating the diagnostic performance of the currently available test as well as an immunodiagnostic test that has been validated in several closely related schistosome species in humans and other mammals.

What is your plan after your residency? What would you like to accomplish over the course of your career?I plan to take the exam for board certification in parasitology through the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists. My plan right now is to work as a professor in veterinary parasitology, with an emphasis on teaching and diagnostics. As my career path within veterinary medicine has changed several times, I will be open to other opportunities in parasitology. Wherever I end up, over the course of my career, I want to be a part of making people interested in parasitology as well as being a part of the advancement of parasitologic diagnostics and treatment. ​​